Blameless in Abaddon
core novel 1996 Godhead Trilogy
Record
| First published | 1996 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 3.94 (1,023 ratings, collected 2026-11-03) |
| First-edition ISBN | 9780151886562 |
| Internal chronology | 2 |
Synopsis
In this retelling of the Book of Job, the two-mile-long, comatose body of God lies on display in a Florida theme park. Martin Candle, a justice of the peace in Abaddon Township, Pennsylvania, loses his health and then his wife in quick succession. He resolves to put God on trial for crimes against humanity, and the World Court in The Hague agrees to hear the case. Before the trial he joins an expedition into the dying brain of the Corpus Dei, where he meets figures from the Bible who each offer a different explanation for suffering. In court, three religious thinkers defend God with rival theodicies while Martin lays out the record of human cruelty.
Where it sits
- Universe: Godhead Trilogy
- Series: Godhead Trilogy core; position 2 of 3 in the series' recorded order
- Author: James Morrow
Notes
- From the series record (Godhead Trilogy): Three satirical novels, each with a different protagonist, set in a world where God has died and left a giant corpse.
Neighbouring works
Publication order and internal chronology are tracked as two separate orderings, but they resolve to the exact same sequence for this book, so one combined line is shown instead of two identical ones.
- Reading order, within the series Godhead Trilogy: position 2 of 3: previous Towing Jehovah (1994) · next The Eternal Footman (1999)
Sources
- Wikipedia: James Morrow
- Publishers Weekly listing (Harcourt Brace, 1996)
- James Morrow official site: Blameless in Abaddon
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